Empirical data for honeydew production per hour (on log scale), together with the model of best fit, for Aphididae (power-law), Coccoidea (power-law), Delphacidae (power-law), and Cicadellidae (exponential), showing actual values (symbols), model prediction (solid line) and 95% prediction interval (dashed lines).

Symbols of life stage are as follows: circle—1st instar nymphs, triangle—2nd instar, plus symbol—3rd instar, cross—4th instar, diamond—5th instar, upside down triangle—adults. Also shown for each family is the results of model validation: observed against independently predicted values. The best model for Aphididae used a different intercept term for the excessively high producing aphids Tuberolachnus salignus and Metopeurum fuscoviride (shown in red). Similarly the best model for Coccoidea omitted the extremely low producer Dysmicoccus neobrevipes (not shown).